With respect to flying bodies used for combating high velocity aerial targets, it is hardly possible to construct the explosive charge large enough that the pressure action, upon detonation of the charge, is sufficient by itself to cause destruction of the aerial target. For this reason, such flying bodies include warheads which form splinters or fragments upon detonation of the explosive charge. The energy of the explosive charge, by means of the splinters or particles formed from the envelope of the warhead, can consequently act on the target at a distance in excess of the distance from the warhead to the aerial target upon detonation of the explosive charge. It is thus possible to extend the destructive action to distances of up to 10 to 20 meters.
It has been proposed to construct warheads for flying bodies of the mentioned type, wherein the required condition is met by providing the envelope for the warhead, at its circumference, with a number of hollow charge linings with radially outwardly directed hollow space axes. For example, see Secret French Pat. applications pV847 and PV999891.
In this prior art construction, the envelope of the warhead is also constructed as a supporting or carrying structural member, and is thus capable of absorbing the forces which occur during transportation, during handling, or during flight of the flying body. The hollow charges generate, upon detonation of the explosive charge, rays or jets which, after a brief period, dissolve into particles and, due to the high velocity and inspite of the small mass of the individual particles, have a good penetrating effect at distances which may amount to several meters. The total number of such particles is dependent primarily on the number of hollow charges provided in the warhead. A single one of the hollow charges forms about 100 particles which are capable of penetrating light metal of 4 mm thickness at a distance of about 5 meters.
Investigations have demonstrated that the destruction probability is substantially dependent on the effectiveness of the individual particles and on the number of these particles. A particle can be considered as being effective if, within distances of several meters, such as are practically feasible, the particle is capable of penetrating a light meter sheet of several mm thickness, preferably 4 to 8 mm.
Explosive charges utilizing pre-formed splinters, or explosive charges which form splinters from the envelope of the charge, have already been proposed as in, for example, German Auslegeschrift 1,164,883, 1,134,003 and 1,187,960, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,762,303. However, such splinter charges have been used for entirely different fields of application, such as, for example, hand grenades, rifle shells, splinter shells and the like. These known arrangements have the disadvantage that their effectiveness by no means approaches the optimum. Thus, in some prior art constructions, the number of splinters is sufficient but the penetration effect is too small. On the other hand, if the mass of the splinters is large, in which event the penetration effect would be correspondingly large, the number of splinters is not sufficient to obtain a sufficient destruction probability. Warheads of the mentioned kind are thus not suitable for combating and destroying modern and high air speed aerial targets.